Agriculture and FoodDevelopmentEconomicsEducationEmploymentEnergyEnvironmentFinance and InvestmentGovernanceIndustry and ServicesNuclear EnergyScience and TechnologySocial Issues/Migration/HealthTaxationTradeTransportUrban, Rural and Regional Development

The Visible Hand of China in Latin America

Latin America is looking towards China and Asia -- and China and Asia are looking right back. This is a major shift: for the first time in its history, Latin America can benefit from not one but three major engines of world growth. Until the 1980s, the United States was the region’s major trade partner. In the 1990s, a second growth engine emerged with the European investment boom in Latin America. Now, at the dawn of the new century, the increasing global economic importance of Asia, and in particular China, potentially provides a third engine of growth.

This book describes the opportunities and challenges that Latin American economies will face as Chinese importance in the world economy -- and in Latin America's traditional markets -- continues to grow.

Introduction

China: A Helping Hand for Latin America?

OECD Development Centre

China’s economic boom represents a major global change. Over the last few years, China has expanded by leaps and bounds and become both a threat to and an opportunity for emerging markets. Its growing demand for raw materials is at the same time a bonanza and a challenge for developing countries.